ONE WEEK OF PANTRY STAPLE MEALS THAT ARE MOSTLY HEALTHY AND USE LESS THAN TEN INGREDIENTS. ALSO INCLUDES A SHOPPING LIST TO MAKE DINNER PLANS EVEN EASIER!

ONE WEEK OF PANTRY STAPLE MEALS THAT ARE MOSTLY HEALTHY AND USE LESS THAN TEN INGREDIENTS. ALSO INCLUDES A SHOPPING LIST TO MAKE DINNER PLANS EVEN EASIER!
VEGETABLE FRIED RICE WITH BROWN RICE, SOY-BASED SAUCE, FROZEN VEGGIES, AND RUNNY EGGS. A DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY DINNER WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE COOKING OR HAVE MINIMAL INGREDIENTS!
Back in college, I went through a major Chinese food obsession. I still do occasionally, but I would say my peak happened sometime around late freshman/early sophomore year. When I felt like taking myself on a date, I would get cute, go to a coffee shop, visit my favorite local book store, and finish the day with Chinese food at one of my two favorite spots. I would always end up ordering way too much food and wanting to roll my ass out of the restaurant. But, under no circumstances could I leave without ordering egg drop soup (with lots of Sambal Oelek!) and a side of fried rice. At the very least, those leftovers fed me for a solid three days.
Anyways, I miss my college-era metabolism, but I still get hard cravings for fried rice. As much as I prefer it in my usual takeout order, unfortunately Marc likes steamed rice better than fried rice (which ???). But, he still loves my homemade version as a meal, and with it being so easy, we have it quite often! It’s not my go-to greasy version with BBQ pork, but it’s soooo good for a healthy weeknight dinner!
Vegetable fried rice is a meal I make when I have no ingredients and no patience. It’s my “I don’t feel like cooking” meal or my “I forgot to buy three ingredients for dinner tonight that I swore we had in the cabinet” back-up dinner. It requires only basic pantry ingredients by using rice, frozen veggies, and basic condiments from the Asian aisle at the grocery store! Oh, and eggs, because that’s the best part of fried rice!
To make it a bit healthier, I swapped brown rice for white and added a ton of extra veggies. I like runny eggs on top, but you could always scramble them as well! And the best part is that the dish takes thirty minutes to make from start-to-end. (I know a million recipes say they take “30 minutes”, but it’s actually true in this case).
Hopefully, you have most of these ingredients on hand, but if not, I would highly recommend stocking up! This is the perfect meal to have as a back-up, and almost all of the ingredients will last in the pantry or freezer. Make sure you have:
To start, make sure that you have cooked + cooled the brown (or white) rice and defrosted the frozen veggies! I just microwave the frozen broccoli for two minutes and drain out extra water. Then, I repeat these steps with the frozen veggie mix.
Next, you’ll whisk together some brown sugar, low sodium soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Set aside.
In a large pan, heat a few tablespoons of neutral oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the broccoli and let it cook undisturbed until the broccoli is slightly charred and crispy on the edges, about 4-5 minutes. Do not stir! You want everything to get brown and charred.
When the broccoli is nice and brown, add the mixed veggies cooking until warm, about another 2-3 minutes. Then, add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
Next, add the rice and the sauce, stirring until everything is well mixed. Taste, and add salt if necessary. Press the rice into an even layer, and let cook another 5 minutes, until the rice is crispy. If the pan seems a bit dry, you can add a little more oil. Either way, the rice may stick a little, and that’s ok! More crunchies for you.
While the rice gets crispy, fry your eggs however you like. I recommend sunny side up or over easy!
When the rice is crispy, divide between four bowls, and top with scallions and an egg. Enjoy yolk-y, crispy rice bliss forever.
On one hand, I don’t understand because I almost always have a tub of rice in the fridge. On the other hand, I totally understand because I almost never have cooked rice when I actually need it. Here’s what I do in those cases:
For vegetable fried rice, or any fried rice for that matter, you should go with long grain! Short grain rice has a lot of extra starch, which will make the rice a bit more sticky and mushy when you mix it with other things. However, long grain rice doesn’t have quite as much starch, so it will dry out nicely and keep the vegetable fried rice from getting mushy. Rinsing the rice with cold water prior to cooking will also help keep the rice from getting sticky by removing extra starch.
I finally learned the secret to a perfect sunny side up egg, and I am pleased to discuss it here today. It’s actually v easy! First, heat a little oil in a non-stick pan. Olive oil or grapeseed oil are both great choices. Crack the egg in the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cover the pan with a lid (preferably glass so you can see what’s going on). Let the egg cook until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny. Remove with a spatula. The bottom will be nice and crispy, and the yolk will be perfectly runny!
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. When reheating, add a little water to the rice, stir, and microwave for a minute or so. I would not recommend storing leftover eggs, because they get a little weird in the fridge, and they’re hard to reheat. Just make as many as you plan on eating, and make eggs fresh if you have leftovers!
However, if you cannot make fresh eggs, go the scrambled route. Just make a few scrambled eggs like you usually would, stir them into the rice, and enjoy the leftovers later!
Vegetable fried rice is completely customizable, so you can pretty much use whatever you have in your fridge. Here are a few variations that would be delicious:
This is truly a basic recipe, but there are a few things you can do to make sure it tastes just like fried rice from the hibachi instead of fried rice that has been sitting in a condensation-infiltrated takeout container!
Spicy Red Miso Ramen + Shoyu Beef
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Five Ingredient Japanese Sticky Chicken
Coconut Curry Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Thai Coleslaw
xo Sara Lynn
*Song of the day: Rainy Days by Culture Abuse
THAI CHICKEN AND RICE SOUP IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE COZY, ONE-POT WEEKNIGHT DINNERS THAT WE USUALLY MAKE ONCE A MONTH, REGARDLESS OF THE SEASON. WITH LIME JUICE, FISH SAUCE, SOY SAUCE, AND FRESH HERBS, IT’S SPICY, FRESH, AND PERFECTLY SALTY!
Remember when I promised you guys this recipe when I posted cilantro lime shredded chicken a couple weeks ago?
Well…here it is.
I did it.
*claps for you Sara*
This recipe is essentially a play on the burrito bowls from Qdoba, Chipotle, etc. etc. I’m normally a big fan of these places because I can get a decent fast-food meal without actually eating fast food.
Not that I don’t ever eat fast food, because I think we’re all guilty of doing that sometimes, but if I want to still feel good about myself at the end of the meal, I choose Qdoba (mostly because it’s on the way home).
Although, I’m still a little bitter that there are NO Cafe Rios in Reno. Whywhywhywhywhy??
I literally crave their pork barbacoa.
I’ve had dreams about it before.
Yeah. Really.
However, I still really love Qdoba and Chipotle.
One of my favorite nights from last semester actually happened in Qdoba. My friends and I randomly ended up there one night (probably way too late in the first place). Luckily for us Reno college kids, there’s a late night Qdoba stop approximately five minutes away from campus, so it’s always a no-brainer on where to go if nothing else is open or will let you in.
Anyways, we essentially ended up at Qdoba until 1 a.m. eating chips and salsa and laughing manically over each others’ weird family stories.
For the sake of privacy, I will not get too far into these family stories, but just know nothing is more fun than watching your friend practically choke on a burrito because she’s laughing so hard at a horrifying incident somebody experienced at Disneyland.
Trust me.
Ingredients
Rice
1 1/2 c. brown rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c. water
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Onion powder, to taste
1 chicken bouillon cube
Corn Avocado Salsa
1 c. corn
1/2 avocado, cubed
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Lime juice, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Toppings
Beans, cheese, salsa, tortilla strips, cilantro, lettuce, etc. etc.
For the rice: Heat about a tablespoon of cooking oil over medium heat. Add brown rice and coat in oil. Stir constantly until rice is browned (but not burnt!). Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add water, lime zest, lime juice, onion powder, and chicken bouillon cube. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Add cilantro and more lime juice right before serving.
For the salsa: Heat oven to 350* F. Spread corn evenly on a greased baking sheet. Drizzle corn with a little olive oil and salt. Toss to coat. Roast for about 10 minutes, or until corn is slightly browned. Let corn cool for about 10 minutes.
Mix corn, avocado, jalapeno, garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasonings as needed.
To assemble: Place a couple scoops of rice in a bowl. Top with chicken, salsa, and other chosen toppings. Serves 4.
These could be made with beef, pork, seafood, etc. To change it up, you could add a bunch of salad ingredients and make it a burrito bowl salad. (Also, if you don’t want to roast the corn, you can make the salsa with plain corn).
I won’t tell.
Song of the Day: Forced to Love–Broken Social Scene
With fall making its slow appearance, all I can think about is soup at all times. Â Even when it’s too warm for soup (a.k.a. right now, or even in the summer), soup is a (not so) guilty pleasure that I look forward to year round. Â Right in the midst of midterms and projects, I’m always looking for easy, one-pot meals that can be simmered away while I study. Â Enter beef, vegetable, and wild rice soup:Â a wholesome meal made in my dutch oven served with crusty, whole-grain bread and a simple, garlic-y side salad. Â After a long day, nothing is better than cuddling up on the couch with this soup. Â I promise.
This soup can be changed based on whatever veggies/meat you have in your fridge. Â Add onions, turnips, potatoes, replace chicken for the beef, use brown rice instead of wild rice, add some thyme, etc. Â Just throw your veggies, meat, and rice into a pot. Â Walk away for an hour or so. Â Come back. Â Bask in the glory of fresh veggies + earthy rice + seasoned beef. Â Dinner plans finalized.
Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 lb. stew meat, cubed
1 carrot, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 qt. low-sodium beef broth
1/2 c. red wine
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. parsley
Few drops Tabasco
1 beef bouillon cube
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. wild rice
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 zucchini, sliced
Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Â Brown the beef for a few minutes. Â Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook until it starts to sweat. Â Add garlic and wild rice. Â Slowly stir in beef broth, red wine, marjoram, parsley, Tabasco, bouillon cube, salt, and pepper. Â Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables and wild rice are tender. Â Lastly, add frozen peas, and zucchini. Â Simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
*Notes*
You can use full sodium beef broth and exclude the bouillon cube if you prefer. Â I just like being able to control how much salt goes into the soup, and I found this yields the best results.
Zucchini and peas are added last so that they do not get too soggy,
*To make in a crockpot*: I have actually never done this, but I do not think it would be too hard. Â Just ad all of the ingredients excluding the rice, peas, and zucchini. Â Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours. Â Add rice, peas, and zucchini 30 minutes-1 hour before serving.
XO Sara
*Song of the Day: Trailer Trash–Modest Mouse*